Chapter 738: Chapter 145: Degree of Heating
The initial plan was to complete the shooting of “Monster” within 20 to 30 days, and it definitely shouldn’t have exceeded forty days. Although from mid-April to mid-May, where it was slightly more than 30 days, even adding extra days wouldn’t suffice for completion. The main reason for the delays was Adrian, who simply had too many commitments.
Moving on from discussing “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Matrix” post-production work, which on its own required significant time, let alone simple matters like signing documents that took quite a while as well. He also had to supervise the progress on Facebook, find time for his lady and daughter, and occasionally indulge in fresh encounters, like with Beyoncé.
Even though Universal Music had signed Beyoncé in 2000, it wasn’t until the beginning of this year that Adrian got involved with her. It wasn’t a matter of not having time; it was because the only Black woman who caught his eye was Halle Berry. Nonetheless, Beyoncé was great too. She had a robust and vibrant body, swaying on his waist with an energy that reminded him of Shakira’s “electric hips.”
Aside from that, there wasn’t much else remarkable about her, so he made the most out of his encounters while he could. It wasn’t necessary to spend too much time with her, given that he had Britney, Christina, and Avril already.
Adrian’s efforts with them had paid off; Britney didn’t even need a mention. Although Avril seemed the same as always, he understood the real changes in her, and as for Christina…
“Do you also want your own music documentary, Kristen?” One morning, as Adrian was dining—since Britney was sleeping in and only he and Kristen were present—he asked her this.
“Of course.” Kristen answered affirmatively, naturally settling into his arms, cutting his bread, and bringing it to his mouth, without a hint of jealousy. It was as if Britney being ahead had nothing to do with her—at least she didn’t show any signs of envy in front of Adrian.
This pleased Adrian. Kristen had truly settled down, understanding well what more she could offer.
“I remember, the most awards at a single Grammy ceremony was won by MJ, right? He got eight, I believe? And the highest number for a female artist was five?” Adrian asked nonchalantly.
“Yes, Alicia Keys got five this year at the Grammys, but Lauren Hill already reached that record back in ’99,” Kristen immediately responded with a sparkle in her eyes, understanding Adrian’s hint in just a few seconds.
“Don’t rush; it’s not the time yet,” Adrian said with a slight smile. He was never stingy with women who knew their place.
All this was happening in Los Angeles, but London had its fair share of issues as well; hence he needed to head there a few days before Cannes, which made it unsurprising that “Monster” could not be completed.
The most crucial matter in London was the filming of the Harry Potter series. The pay for the actors, especially the child actors, had mostly been negotiated beforehand, so it didn’t consume much time. However, some of the adults playing teachers had left, and while the film company would invest in child actors, they wouldn’t spend much on adult actors in non-leading roles. Although Adrian managed to retain Mrs. Zoe Wanamaker, who played Mrs. Hooch, he couldn’t keep everyone.
Little Emma did make some impressive moves in the negotiation, as she pushed for the movie company to agree on compensating the child actors with bonuses after “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” was released at the end of the year—well, that’s an exaggeration; she merely asked during a gathering to negotiate with the movie company about the revenue from this year’s release of “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.”
Indeed, upon careful reflection, one could understand why, before the release of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” the film studio had rushed to shoot the second part—it was all for what the actors could gain. Despite having signed contracts during the production of the “Chamber of Secrets,” interests would slip through fingers if not fought for, especially since the initiative was now in their hands.
At first, the film studio disagreed, but after several negotiations, they reluctantly relaxed the conditions. The final result was that compensation would be offered in the form of bonuses, but only to a few key child actors and in small amounts.
Despite this, everyone still felt quite content. For many, especially the seasoned actors, it was not so much about the financial gain as it was about getting the film studio to make concessions, even if those were minute and indirectly related to them.
Of course, they were all sly old foxes; the moment they hit the film studio’s bottom line, they immediately retracted.
However, they were unaware that this had been orchestrated by Adrian. He had specifically asked Universal to prepare a contingency plan, telling them to not bring it up unless the actors did, and if so, to agree to some compensation for the young actors. Subsequently, in private, he had Little Emma seize the opportunity to suggest this, spurring the actors to fight for these benefits. The ultimate purpose was simply to make Little Emma more popular among the cast since, although her relationship with him hadn’t been discovered by the tabloids, it was no secret on set. Previously, under Adrian’s instruction, Little Emma had been the first to express support for the negotiation, aiming to curb any rumors internally.
Overall, things were quite satisfactory. Little Emma was now considered a leader among the children of similar age within the cast, but that subject could be discussed later. Since the issue of the fee was resolved, it was naturally time to schedule the third installment. During the negotiations, Universal was already looking for a successor to Columbus, and Adrian ended up recommending Mike Newell.
Adrian had worked with Neville back in the ’90s on “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” and his entry into the UK entertainment industry had fostered a reasonably good relationship between them. They often stayed in touch. Just last year, Bossworth had secured the North American distribution rights for “Shaun of the Dead” through him.
Originally, Neville was preparing another film and had planned to invite Julia, but he couldn’t resist Adrian’s enthusiastic invitation, coupled with the surge in popularity following the first “Harry Potter” movie. Thus, he reluctantly agreed, and ended up signing on for two films.
With the director issue resolved, the film could proceed to the pre-production phase. As for the young boys whose voices had not completely broken, there was no need to worry; from the third installment onward, there was no need to rush the production, and there was plenty of preliminary work to be done in the meantime. If necessary, they could always dub the voices after shooting those parts—it wasn’t a major issue.
The open casting call was part of the preparatory work for “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” not for just any role, but for Harry’s first love interest, Cho Chang. This character made her appearance in the third novel and was a seeker for Ravenclaw, competing with Harry in a Quidditch match and stirring his heart.
Although she became someone else’s girlfriend in the fourth book, Rowling’s depiction had already positioned her as Harry’s first love. Moreover, in a recent interview, he hinted that in the fifth book to be published next year, Cho Chang and Harry’s relationship would evolve. Cho Chang was originally supposed to appear in the third film of the “Harry Potter” series, but due to various reasons, it had been shelved. Now, with Adrian involved, such an issue was unlikely to occur.
“You did very well, Feifei,” Adrian said, pressing the pause button as he sat on the sofa. The image of Liu Yufei performing a monologue was instantly frozen.
“Really?” the young girl nestled in his arms asked somewhat excitedly.
“Of course, although I’ve already spoken with the person in charge, the staff member who picked out your tape doesn’t know.” Adrian said with a smile as he tousled her hair, “You need to keep it up, even though I’ve arranged everything, you still need to show your strength, don’t let me down.”
“Okay.” Liu Yufei nodded nervously, tucking her neck in, appearing very obedient.
The open audition had just started one round, and it was normal for her to be chosen. Considering that thousands of British Chinese registered, many of whom were only half or a quarter Chinese by descent, it wasn’t peculiar. Moreover, many non-Chinese Asians had registered as well. Therefore, the auditions were rather rough; the several interviews that followed were key, which is why Liu Li, standing beside her, didn’t smile naturally.
“Don’t worry, you’ve practiced specifically many times already, just treat the interview like a regular rehearsal,” Adrian continued.
Liu Yufei nodded obediently again, and after a moment, she took a bold glance at her mother and said, “Uncle, I want to tell you something…”
“Feifei!” Liu Li called out before she could finish.
“What is it?” Adrian raised his eyebrows, dismissing Liu Li with a wave of his hand.
Biting her lip, Liu Yufei cautiously spoke, “It’s like this, a female classmate of mine has invited me to their party, they have invited me several times before, and they often invited me to their parties, so…”
“Do you want to go? Then go, as long as you are happy,” Adrian said with a smile, completely disregarding Liu Li’s expression, “Of course, remember to come home when you should, and don’t do something you shouldn’t.”
“I know, I know,” Liu Yufei joyfully nodded repeatedly.
“Good, then let the driver take you,” Adrian answered with a smile. “Remember, you’re a big girl now, don’t let your mom and me down.”
“I promise, I promise, thank you, Uncle!” The girl joyously wrapped her arms around his neck, gave him a peck on the cheek, and then hopped off the sofa to quickly go upstairs to get ready.
“Ed, this… isn’t really good…” Liu Li still appeared anxious; she was somewhat aware of the nature of Western parties, especially among the youth.
“Don’t worry,” Adrian chuckled, “Call the driver. Trust your daughter, Mrs. Liu.”
Soon after changing her clothes and putting on a soft hat, Liu Yufei descended from upstairs, hugged and kissed Adrian again, and then left the apartment for the car already waiting outside.
“Young people naturally love to have fun and make noise,” Adrian said as he watched the car drive away from the window, then he turned back to Liu Li, “Constraining her nature will only make her want to rebel. Although Feifei might not rebel intensely, it will still damage your relationship with her.”
“I just…” Liu Li sighed, “You know how chaotic young people’s parties can be.”
As she spoke, her tone even carried a hint of reproach, quite naturally, she had all her bets placed on her daughter. Although Yufei and Adrian had been getting along well, if something went wrong…
“Not all parties are chaotic,” Adrian smiled lightly before stepping forward and unapologetically pinching her chin, “You should try to trust your daughter. Feifei is smart; she should know what things shouldn’t be done. Flowers in a greenhouse might look beautiful all year round, but they also wither easily.”
Let’s put aside these issues. The casting work for Cho Chang had already started, and it wasn’t going to be finished within a month or two, Adrian had arranged everything, and Liu Yufei entering the final phase was not a problem. Then, he had ways to persuade the director and Rowling to accept Liu Yufei’s appearance. The only issue was that, thinking carefully, it would be somewhat difficult to fully tap into the Chinese market with just her. Although there was Lin Zhiling, she was always thinking about becoming naturalized as an American, not to mention she was Taiwanese. A slight slip in her words could cause a lot of trouble.
For now, don’t think too much; Adrian still had some backup plans, so he mainly focused on his work. However, even though he was in London for the Harry Potter series, he didn’t visit Little Emma often, despite her phone calls begging him to take her out, he always found an excuse to tactfully refuse.
“I’m about to head to Cannes soon, so I need to spend most of my time on work, can you understand?” Adrian always said this on the phone.
Although he knew the little one would be unhappy, aware that her dissatisfaction might lead her to do something “terrible”, he had no choice but to refuse. Little Emma’s antics were becoming more frequent, even sitting directly on his lap in front of many people at times, although she quickly got down, if it happened too many times, who knows what people might suspect.
Only after being preoccupied with all these matters did the two start to talk like normal people, showing just how strained the relationship between Adrian and Keira was, and her obsession with his fingers seemed to have intensified, unfortunately the main culprit paid no mind to this, which was exactly what he wanted to see. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (), your support is my greatest motivation.)